A scene from Too MuchNetflix
ROSE
Two Israeli artists – award-winning choreographer Sharon Eyal and long-term collaborator Gai Behar – join London-based music and arts organisation Young and DJ Call Super for a night of club culture, dance and new music. The event promises immersion “in the dark hedonism of Eyal’s choreography and artistry”, as the auditorium seats are rolled away, and R.O.S.E dissolves the boundaries between stage, dancer and spectator. France-based Eyal danced with the Batsheva Dance Company between 1990 and 2008, then as associate artistic director and as a house choreographer for the company from 2005 to 2012.
Sadler’s Wells, until July 13
Rose at Sadler's WellsJohan Persson
Superman: Legacy
The story of Superman was created by comic book writer-artists Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, children of Jewish emigrants to North America who had fled Europe in 1934 – one year after Hitler’s rise to power. And now, David Corenswet is the first Jewish actor to play Superman. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Corenswet is the son of John Corenswet, who was from a New Orleans-based Jewish family. The 30-year-old House of Cards actor plays Clark Kent alongside Marvellous Mrs Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane in this new reboot.
In cinemas now
David Corenswet as SupermanWarner Bros
Girl from the North Country
The iconic songbook of Bob Dylan is woven into this smash hit multi-Tony and Olivier Award-winning show. In a nine-week run, Conor McPherson’s play returns with a company of 23 actors and musicians to the venue where it had its world premiere in 2017. With a title inspired by Dylan’s 1963 classic, the play takes the audience to the Great Depression of 1934 as the community of Duluth battle their way through. Amongst the dust and the hardship, a group of travellers find each other – experiencing love, loss and life in a local guesthouse filled with music and hope.
The Old Vic, until August 23
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
In The Fantastic Four, Jewish actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) plays Ben Grimm/The Thing. Afficionados will know that Ben Grimm’s Jewish identity is a notable part of the character's past – he had a Jewish wedding and a bar mitzvah to mark his 13 years as The Thing – and this is the first time a Jewish actor has played the role in a major film adaptation.
If you watch closely, you might spot signs of his heritage. For example, when Grimm returns to a fictional street set in the Lower East Side of the 1960s, we get snippets pointing to his Jewish roots – a sign for a tailor bearing the Hebrew letters for “tokenism” (meaning “repairs”), and a bakery brimming with babka and challah.
In cinemas from July 25
Claudia Winkleman in The TraitorsBBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Mark Mainz
The Traitors Prom
Claudia Winkleman hosts – fully cloaked – a Prom celebrating worldwide television phenomenon The Traitors. The matinee and evening concerts will explore the “timeless themes of classical music: intrigue, treachery and betrayal”, according to the BBC, which also said the two concerts were a way of using BBC brands (there was a Doctor Who Prom last year) and the “Proms platform to innovate and welcome people into the world of classical music who might not think it is for them”. Expect new arrangements of some of the tense and haunting music from the popular psychological game show, scored by British-Canadian composer Sam Watts, with famous classical works, guest appearances from contestants, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Singers.
Royal Albert Hall, London, 26 July
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette’s debut performance at Glastonbury, on the Pyramid stage, was a festival highlight. Catch the Canadian star on the last stop of her UK tour and sing along to anthemic and iconic hits like Ironic, Hand In My Pocket and Thank U. The 90s rock star whose mother was the child of Holocaust survivors only discovered that she was Jewish when she was in her twenties, a fact she has put down to her family’s traumatic experience.
O2 Arena, London, July 27
Saul Milton (L) and Will Kennard (R) of Chase & Status collect their BRIT Award in 2024Henry Nicholls/ AFP via Getty Images
Chase and Status
Twenty years into their career, these trailblazers on the UK electronic music scene are still soaring – perhaps higher than ever. The drum ‘n’ bass duo with a towering reputation as artists and producers had their first UK chart number one with their Stormzy collaboration Backbone last summer and can boast two billion streams. They are not only a headline act at All Points East but have also curated the day in conjunction with the festival, with Overmono, Sammy Virji and Nia Archives on the bill. Proudly Jewish, Saul Milton (Chase) has been spotted on red carpets wearing a diamond chai including at the Brit Awards 2024, where they picked up the gong for Producer of the Year. Expect a thrillingly high-octane dance set.
All Points East, Victoria Park, London, August 16
Klezfest 2025
Jewish Music Institute’s celebrated Klezfest is back as a new, intimate edition designed to offer “meaningful musical connection, deep learning, and joyful community spirit”. Three days of workshops provide opportunities to learn, play, sing, and dance the soulful and traditional Jewish music from 19th-century Eastern Europe. Highlights include the Yiddish Choir led by Zalmen Mlotek and Polina Shepherd, the Klezmer Orchestra and Yiddish dance with Sayumi Yoshida, and the event will also feature nigunim (wordless, spiritual Chasidic songs), and lively jam sessions continuing into the night. The event’s artistic director is Susi Evans, and artists include American pianist and accordionist Alan Bern, woodwind specialist John MacNaughton and Klezmer fiddle performer and teacher Anna Lowenstein.
SOAS, London, August 20-22
Long Story ShortNetflix
Long Story Short
The first season of animated comedy series Long Story Short, from Bojack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg, is out this summer – and it has a very Jewish voice cast, as well as theme, given that it is about a dysfunctional family’s shared history, inside jokes and old wounds. Lisa Edelstein (Girlfriend’s Guide To Divorce), Paul Reiser (Stranger Things), Ben Feldman (Mayfair Witches), Abbi Jacobson (Broad City), Max Greenfield (New Girl), and Dave Franco (Krapopolis) are among the cast.
Netflix, August 22
Sir András Schiff BBC
Sir András Schiff plays Bach Prom
Following acclaimed Proms performances of The Well-Tempered Clavier and the ‘Goldberg’ Variations, famed Jewish Hungarian-born pianist Sir András Schiff returns to the world’s biggest classical music festival to play Bach’s The Art of Fugue. Schiff began piano lessons aged five, studying at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music and is one of the renowned interpreters of Bach. Last year he lectured at the Wigmore Hall on The Art of Fugue before performing the piece itself.
Royal Albert Hall, August 23
Craig David performs on stage at The O2 Arena in 2025 Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Craig David
It’s the 25th anniversary of Craig David’s first No1 single and his debut album Born To Do It, which sold millions of copies worldwide. The Southampton-born garage legend whose mother is Jewish headlined the week-long outdoor concert series Kew The Music last weekend, and he will next be bringing his global party brand TS5 and his boundless energy – playing his classic garage hits 7 Days and Fill Me In and slick R&B – to Cornwall.
Port Eliot Estate, Saltash, August 24
